Aztecs to enter lion's den again

Kirk Morrison was discussing the differences between San Diego
State and Ohio State earlier this week. The standout middle
linebacker spoke about tradition being the biggest difference, but
perhaps just as telling was his initial game-day impression from
the time the Aztecs visited Ohio Stadium two years ago.

"I was more nervous during warm-ups," Morrison said. "When you
get out there, the stands are halfway filled. That's 50,000
people."

Only eight times in SDSU history have the Aztecs played a home
contest in front of more than 50,000 spectators. They'll see more
than twice that number today when they face No. 2 Ohio State (1-0)
in Columbus.

Approximately 105,000 fans clad in Buckeyes' scarlet and gray
will pack the historic place dubbed "The Horseshoe." And nearly
every one of them is expecting to witness an Ohio State rout.

"The best way to look at it is we have nothing to lose," senior
offensive tackle Brendan Darby said. "If we lose, nobody thinks
we're going to win, so everybody will say, 'You gave it your best
shot.'

"If we win, people are just going to be blown away. It will be
national news."

Darby is one of four current Aztecs who started against Ohio
State in 2001, when the Buckeyes prevailed 27-12. On that
afternoon, the Aztecs led 12-6 at halftime, and Ohio State was
roundly booed as it left the field.

That edition of the Buckeyes was much different than what the
Aztecs (1-0) will see today. Then, Tressel was a first-year coach
of a team struggling to a 7-5 record. Now, he's a respected leader
of the defending national champions.

In fact, the Buckeyes bear little resemblance to the squad that
struggled to defeat the Aztecs two years ago.

"Ohio State has made bigger improvements in their program than
we have over the last two years," Aztecs coach Tom Craft said.
"There's no question about that. They're going to be a different
team than they were two years ago."

The venue for today's game was supposed to be Qualcomm Stadium.
But SDSU's cash-strapped athletic department found 2.4 million
reasons to switch the game to Columbus -- $2.4 million being the
figure former athletic director Rick Bay was able to score to move
the game to Columbus.

There has been little talk on that subject this week. The
majority of the chatter has revolved around the atmosphere at Ohio
Stadium.

"That was just a great experience," said cornerback Jeff Shoate,
one of the remaining 2001 starters. "It makes you realize what
college football is, because you hear about those big schools and
you grow up watching those games on TV -- the Horseshoe and schools
like Michigan and the Big Ten, and you hear about 100,000
people.

"That was the first time being in front of that many people, so
that was a great experience."

Darby said it doesn't take long to understand that you're in a
special environment.

"You know right away," Darby said. "It's pretty cool. It's
something you don't see on the West Coast. It's an interesting
experience."

The Aztecs attempted to break in the first-time visitors with a
brief workout Friday at Ohio Stadium. Also, veterans like Darby,
Shoate, Morrison and defensive end Ryan Iata (another Aztec who
started in 2001) have spent the week informing younger teammates
what today will be like.

In the 2001 contest, Morrison was a redshirt freshman making his
third career start, and he began to penetrate the national
consciousness that afternoon with 10 tackles.

His first look at Ohio Stadium seemed so surreal that he thought
he was dreaming. He can still recall former coach Ted Tollner
saying, "Don't be in awe." He remembers getting choked up on the
way to the game just by seeing Ohio State's colors everywhere.

That all changed when the game began.

"Once the game got started, you block the crowd out and you just
play the game the way you always play and just have fun," Morrison
said. "I can block anything out. Sometimes when I play a game, I
feel like I'm out there by myself.

"At Ohio State, it was different for the fact that when you're
up and beating them like we were, everyone's quiet. But once you
let them in the game, that's when the crowd becomes a factor."